Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett reacted to the NAZA documentary, which examines Israel’s military attacks in Gaza through the lens of genocide. Bennett described the Israeli army’s killing of civilians in Gaza as a consequence of war and argued that these actions could not be defined as genocide.
Speaking on his X account, Bennett criticized the production by Israeli filmmakers for portraying Israeli soldiers as perpetrators of genocide. He argued that the documentary’s approach could not be considered art.
Although Bennett acknowledged that Israel’s actions were horrific, he claimed that the attacks in Gaza did not constitute genocide.
The attacks in Gaza in the NAZA documentary
The NAZA documentary features confessions from Israeli military personnel who served in surveillance and remote-killing mechanisms targeting Palestinians. The production examines Israel’s military attacks in Gaza through the lens of genocide.
The documentary’s title refers to an abbreviation reportedly used in the Israeli army for civilians—including men, women and children—expected to be killed in an attack.
The production was screened in Venice
NAZA was produced by the British newspaper The Guardian and directed by Oscar-winning Israeli filmmaker Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. The documentary was screened for audiences at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.
The production received a 25-minute standing ovation at the festival. The Italian press reported that this surpassed the 24-minute uninterrupted ovation for The Voice of Hind Rajab, which had its world premiere in Venice last year.
